


In Pursuit of Credits

by rudbeckia



Series: Bounty Hunter Hux [1]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bounty Hunters, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, No Major Character Death, Snoke gets what’s coming to him, mention of murder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-16 08:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14160651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rudbeckia/pseuds/rudbeckia
Summary: Armitage Hux is a bounty hunter, and a good one. When he gets a lucrative contract to kidnap the son of a New Republic senator and deliver him, alive, to a rendezvous point in the Unknown Region, he think’s he’s the luckiest man in the galaxy.How wrong can one asshole be.





	1. Lucrative

**Author's Note:**

> Previously posted as separate short prompt-based fics in the series but fits better as a multi-chapter story.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt:  
> 5\. “Just because I kill people doesn’t mean I am the bad guy, it means I found a calling.”

Armitage Hux considered his career a success. He had his own ship, plenty of weapons, enough credits squirrelled away here and there to last a standard year—more if he was frugal—and his reputation for efficiency meant that offers came to him before they were advertised to the rest of the bounty hunters.

But this job was different from his usual contracts.

_Capture target alive. Rendezvous coordinates in Unknown Region when capture confirmed. Payment 20kCr on delivery, reasonable expenses in advance. Client wishes to remain anonymous._

For one thing, the fee was four times more than he’d ever been offered for a hit. For another thing, it wasn’t a hit. Hux sat back and tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair while he considered the job. He looked in the attached file at the target: a young man, still a boy really, five years younger than himself with unruly dark hair that tumbled almost to his shoulders, apart from one lock bound in a short plait, and deep eyes that glared out of the photograph. It should not be a difficult job. Find the boy, shoot him with a tranq as if he was an escaped wampa, carry him aboard and keep him gently sedated until he could be delivered.

So why the exorbitant fee? Hux smiled and replied.  
_25kCr on delivery, advance payment of 5kCr to cover fuel and other expenses, total payable to me 30kCr into a clean account._  
He raised his eyebrows and whistled as the contract document with a bank chit for five thousand credits in a secure account in his name arrived less than ten minutes later. He shrugged and pressed his thimbprint to the reader on his datapad, then called to his droid.  
“Kayfour, see to it that The Finalizer is prepared for departure. We have a job.”

The Finalizer was a grandiose name for a souped-up yacht. It had enough weaponry to fight off pirates, but not so much that the New Republic military would get suspicious. It had been a pleasure vessel in its heyday, but Hux had no use for the trappings of the idle rich. He’d stripped it down himself and replaced the extensive entertainment systems with hardware and software more in keeping with his chosen career. He boasted, on the few occasions he let his hair down, that he could find and track anyone, or anything.

He set to work. The target was the son of a senator, which (Hux assumed) explained the price and anonymity. He surmised that the boy had gone missing, perhaps was on the point of dragging the family name into the mire with some indiscretion or other. Hux could certainly sympathise with that. Last known sighting... Hux frowned at the information in front of him. The boy wasn’t lost at all: he was at some kind of boarding school. That made the job more complicated. Kidnapping someone from a noisy bar or a busy market or a bustling spaceport was a simple thing. Arm around the shoulder. Tranq in the ribs. Oh sorry please excuse my drunk friend.

Extracting his target from an exclusive educational facility in the middle of scenic nowhere would be trickier.

Hux decided on a strategy. He’d start, as usual, with careful monitoring of his target’s habits and routines. Only once he knew his target would he form a firm plan based on predictions of the target’s most likely behaviour, and here Kayfour would supply him with precise probabilities of each predicted action. The extraction would be a fast in and out before the boy knew he was being taken, and in a way that would allow him to make a hyperspace jump or two in case of pursuit. After a final check of his equipment and fuel reserves, Hux ordered Kayfour to monitor communications and set the ship’s navicomputer for their first jump.

 

A few hours later, Hux stared at the planet in disbelief. Instead of the prestigious private academy he expected, it appeared the target went to somewhere more... open air. More... rural. More... _awful!_ For a moment Hux entertained himself with the thought that the boy was an unmanageable young criminal, sent to a prison planet where the walls were the apparent lack of anywhere else to go and the punishment was boredom. He tracked all human life-signs to a circle of huts surrounding a larger structure and instructed Kayfour to match the physical characteristics of each human to the particulars supplied. It did not take long to find the tall, broad, big-featured youth and follow him discreetly with a tracking drone. Hux smiled. This was going to be the easiest thirty grand he’d ever made.

After two days of surveillance, The Finalizer set down a short distance from the little group of huts when all humans were inside the larger, central building and Kayfour had engaged the single droid present, a particularly talkative astromech, in an involved communication about the location of all the settlements in the sector and the best route to use to visit each one in turn given a range of parameters such as fuel reserves and time limits, effectively tying up the astromech’s processing power with flattery and several requests for detailed maps. Once down, Hux armed himself with a blaster set to stun, a tranq stick, a backpack-style repulsorlift and a set of magna binders. He could lie in wait for the boy during his evening walk, stun him, stick him with the tranq before the stun wore off, get the repulsorlift and binders on him and pull him back to his yacht. They’d be most of the way to the Unknown Regions before the boy’s absence was noticed.

It all went perfectly to plan until Hux raised his blaster. The target’s hand shot out and the blaster bolt froze in mid air, then the boy stepped aside, walked forwards and studied the bright streak while Hux’s arm remained frozen and aiming at nothing.  
“You don’t need to do that,” said the boy in a soft, deep voice that made Hux shiver. “Do you intend to kill me? I don’t sense that from you, but you are... evil. Yes, you’ve made choices based on personal gain rather than what’s right. I can see it in you. You’re a killer.”  
“Just because I kill people doesn’t mean I am the bad guy,” said Hux, “it means I found a calling. I never killed anyone who was innocent. Everyone’s out to get everyone else and I may as well profit while I can. But you’re right, I’m not here to kill you so you can stop that... whatever the kriff you’re doing, and let me go.”

The boy inclined his head and gave a little _hmm_ and the blaster bolt sailed off to hit the ground some distance away. Hux leapt forward with the tranq stick but somehow it turned in his hand and jabbed into his own thigh. He stared in horror as the sedative numbed his muscle, and looked at the boy. The boy laughed.  
“Turn on your repulsorlift and point. I’ll take you to your ship.”

When Hux regained consciousness he was lying in his own bunk on The Finalizer and the pale streaks of hyperspace patterned the viewport. He sat up. There was a bottle of water by his side and a note written in careful aurebesh script.  
_Sorry about the drug but at least I didn't leave you in that shit-encrusted camp._  
He scoffed, downed the water and staggered through to the cockpit. The boy was there, in the pilot’s seat, chatting with Kayfour who was plugged into the comms port as usual.  
“What the kriff do you think you’re doing!” Hux lunged forwards but found himself pushed into the copilot’s seat as if buffeted there by invisible wind.  
“I’m getting us to the Unknown Region. I know where I’m going, I just needed a ship to get me off that sithforsaken rock my uncle calls the New Jedi Training School. He looked round at Hux, who was staring back, aghast, as the centicredit dropped.  
“You.” He pointed and the target smiled. “You arranged all of this. You’re the target _and_ the anonymous client.”  
The target stuck out his hand and grinned wider. “Hi, nice to meet you. You know me as Ben Solo but you can call me Kylo.”  
Hux sat back and covered his face. “I can’t believe it. I finally get a nice, lucrative job where I don’t have to kill anyone in a seedy backstreet bar and deliver their severed head to some underworld slug or arrange a few deaths by natural causes for some up and coming politician, and it’s to kidnap a fucking force-user at his own request.” He looked sideways at Kylo. “I assume I’m not getting paid the rest of the thirty grand?”  
“I only had the five-k,” said Kylo with a shrug. “I just needed a ship and my dad wouldn’t lend me the Falcon. But when we get to Snoke, he’ll pay you the rest. I promise.”

Hux sighed, then turned in his seat. He held out his hand.  
“Armitage Hux, but you can call me Hux.”  
As they shook hands, Kylo waved his hand, smiled and said, “We’re going to get along. We have a good feeling about this,” and somehow Hux decided that being stuck in a converted pleasure yacht with a handsome stranger and only one bunk might not be so bad.


	2. Who we’re meant to be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt:
> 
> 11\. “Did you just shush me?”
> 
> Kylo and Bounty Hunter Hux avoid trouble at a seedy spaceport and find out a few things about one another.

_State your business!_  
“Hello? Hi! Pleasure yacht Finalizer requesting safe passage for refuelling and supplies.”  
_Identify all lifeforms aboard and supply the serial numbers of all droids._

Kylo cut the comms and turned to Hux. “I’ve been here before. I know how these guys operate. We’ll be down and up again in no time.”  
Hux shook his head. “There are other systems, Kylo, we could go to some anonymous spaceport like Mos Eisley instead of this smugglers’ paradise. Have you ever been to Tattooine?”  
Kylo shuddered. “Trust me. This is fine.”

“Two humans, one kayfour unit, and twenty credits.”  
_Each._  
“Forty”  
_And for the droid?_  
“Uuuugh fine. Sixty.”  
_And for safe passage out?_  
“Aw come on, sweetheart! I just want to set this old crate down, fuel up and grab some Berrinian hot beans for breakfast. I can pay my way up again later.”  
_Won’t be my shift. One twenty for calling me ‘sweetheart’ you cheeky brat or my report says I shot you down because you’re a pirate._

Hux glared at Kylo and made a cutting motion at the comms but Kylo shook his head and winked. He took a breath to speak. The boy was arrogant to the point of—  
“Shush!” Kylo held his hand up and Hux’s voice stopped before he formed a word, holding the breath that he could no longer push from his lungs.

“My captain says ninety and not a credit more or we’ll go to Mos Eisley. We’ve enough fuel for a jump to Tatooine.”  
_Hundred or you’re scrap. Powering up._  
“Hang on! Hang on!” Kylo feigned panic and cut the comm for a count of ten, ignoring Hux’s pink face, staring eyes and hands scratching at his throat. “Fine. Get us down and up again for a hundred.”  
_Ha! Won’t be my shift. Stand by._

A panel in front of Hux glowed green and Kylo tapped a few commands. Once they were safely caught by the landing tractor, Hux pushed out his breath and sucked in fresher air, breath after breath until his head stopped spinning.  
“Did you just _shush_ me?” he demanded, wheezing voice lacking the anger he wanted to express. “With the _force_?”  
“Sorry, but you would have ruined it. I could feel you getting pissed at her. They’re not paid much and you can afford the bribe.” Kylo winked. “You’ve got five grand tucked away.”  
Hux’s voice recovered quickly. “So why the kriff didn’t you just offer her what she asked for?” He clenched his fists. “We could have saved time. The sooner we’re out of this seedy spaceport the better. And don’t _ever_ do that again.”  
Kylo laughed at Hux’s fury. “My dad taught me that it’s better to give the orbital traffic control a bit of banter. They’re bored and they get suspicious of anyone who bribes them generously upfront.”

On the ground Hux instructed Kayfour to oversee refuelling and initiate a complete shutdown of all systems should anyone unauthorised try to board, ordered Kylo to remain near the landing pad and went out in search of supplies. He turned to see Kylo two steps behind him, wearing his long, tan cloak.  
“I told you to remain—“  
“You’re employed by me, remember?”  
“I have to deliver you alive to have a hope of getting paid.”  
“You don’t fit here, and that blade you keep up your sleeve will invite trouble if you show it. Look as insignificant as you can and let me deal with the locals.”  
Hux looked around as a crash and a roar indicated the start of a brawl. “Kriff! I thought I’d seen some rough places,” he said. “If Mos Eisley is the galaxy’s stinking armpit then this is its filthy bumcrack. Does this system even have a name?”  
Kylo laughed. “No. The locals just call it _Ground._ You can get anything you want here, for a price, no questions asked. And nobody will remember you were ever here.” Kylo took Hux’s arm. “This way.”

Kylo gestured now and then and the bustling, chattering throng parted for them. Soon they leaned against a wall beside a food cart, slurping hot beans from cartons. Hux closed his eyes and sighed.  
“You’re not what I expected when I got the file contracting me to kidnap a rich schoolkid.”  
Kylo shrugged at Hux and smiled. “And you’re not what I expected when I hired a bounty hunter to kidnap me. You’re cleaner for a start, and much better company. I was expecting some silent Zabrak, or maybe a dull-eyed old clonetrooper.”  
Hux watched Kylo as the boy kept his head down over his carton of beans but scanned the crowd with upturned eyes. He nudged Kylo. “Who are you looking for?”  
“I’m not looking _for_ someone, I’m looking to avoid someone. There’s a small chance that a smuggler named Han Solo will be here.”  
“Han S... a relative?”  
“Mmhmm, my father.”  
“Your dad’s a smuggler?”  
“Yeah, it sucks.” Kylo glared. “I’ve been here with him before. He used to take me on some of his runs before my use of the force got too much for him. He got scared.”  
Hux raised an eyebrow. Kylo had entertained him in quiet moments by showing off his ability to manipulate objects in mid air and guess what Hux was thinking. “Scared of a few magic tricks?”  
Kylo shook his head. “More than that. Mom was worse. I used to break things when I got angry or scared. I couldn’t always control it. They arranged for me to go to Uncle Luke when the news broke that my grandfather was Darth Vader. Can you believe that my parents _knew_ and didn’t bother to tell me? Han dropped me off and waved goodbye and I’ve not seen either of them since.” Kylo crushed his empty carton and sent it into the nearest incinerator unit. Through gritted teeth he said, “Apparently it was all for my own good because they love me so much. Snoke knows better. He understands how I feel and why I have these outbursts. He says Luke’s teaching me to suppress my power but he can help me become who I’m meant to be.”

When Kylo abruptly turned and walked away, Hux trotted after him, caught up and slipped his arm through Kylo’s.  
“Mine ran when I was about four and left me behind. He was some imperial bigwig, commandant of an academy until the downfall of the Empire. My mother was a kitchen help. _He_ hated me for being so obviously his bastard.” Hux pointed to his bright copper hair. “And _she_ resented me because I was his. I grew up learning to stay out of the way and fend for myself. When I was about twelve, I made myself useful to a visiting bounty hunter, an ex-imperial hounded out by my father’s allies. She took me on as her assistant. I learned from her to be careful, to consider all possibilities and to avoid emotional entanglements. When we finally caught up with my father, nobody had even reported me missing. The surprise on his face when my knife slipped between his ribs was perfect.”  
Kylo stopped and frowned at Hux. “You killed him yourself!”  
“Yes.”  
“You were... you were just a kid and you killed your father!”  
“I tracked him down for Sloane. I would have tipped him off and saved him if... Hah. I wanted to show him that I’d made something of my life but he called me weak-willed and useless to my face. I’d built up an image of him in my head, of how he’d shake my hand and ask me to join him. So much for childish, emotional nonsense. Sloane gave me half the bounty, helped me steal my yacht and sent me away. He was my first kill.”  
Kylo wrapped his arms around Hux, enveloping him in the dark warmth of his cloak. Muffled by Ren’s hood, Hux’s voice sounded thick and low. “Don’t you dare feel pity for me, Kylo. The past makes us who we are. If things had been different I would not be who I am now.” _Or where I am now._  
Kylo picked up on the raw emotion behind the thought and held Hux for a few seconds more.

Getting off the planet was every bit as entertaining for Kylo and as nerve-wracking for Hux as their descent had been. It cost them ten minutes of Kylo flirting outrageously with their orbital traffic controller and eighty credits from Hux’s account. But they had a full fuel tank, enough food to last two people for about a month, and Kayfour had arranged for the air scrubbers and water filters to be serviced so the atmosphere no longer smelled like it needed a sonic. Safely back in hyperspace, with the navicomputer programmed by Kylo, Hux yawned. “You want first bunk shift?” he asked Kylo. Kylo shook his head.  
“You go ahead. I like looking out at the hyperspace trails. It helps me focus.”  
“Okay. Wake me when you want the bunk. Don’t fall asleep in the pilot’s chair. Trust me, it will wreck your back.”  
Kylo smiled. “I’ll join you in a while. We’re far enough out from the core that we don’t need one of us to be on lookout. Kayfour will alert us if anything happens to bring us out of hyperspace.”

Hux smiled back, and wondered whether—if this thing with this mysterious _Snoke_ didn’t work out—Kylo would consider tagging along. As a professional business partner, of course. What else could it possibly be that made Hux want to keep Kylo close?


	3. Guidance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt:  
> 23\. “Well then, watch this!”
> 
> Hux and Kylo are nearing Snoke’s location. They’ve been living in close quarters for several days and tempers are fraying. Hux disagrees with Kylo’s insistence that he needs to be taught how to use the force: he thinks Kylo needs a different kind of education altogether.  
> But what will Snoke think?

Hux regarded the still-glowing slashes in the bulkhead with fading alarm. Kylo stood, eyes closed, perfectly still apart from his heaving chest and shoulders. When his breathing calmed, he said, “this is why I need a teacher.”  
“No, it’s not,” countered Hux, touching Kylo’s arm. “This is why you need self control.”  
Kylo’s eyes flashed open. He shook off Hux’s hand and he glared. “Snoke says I need a teacher! This... this curse is too much for me to handle. I need guidance!”  
“Fine!” Hux tightened his fists, fighting the urge to yell at Kylo. “I’ll guide you.”  
“You’re not force sensitive.” Kylo clipped his lightsaber back onto his belt and turned away.  
“So what?” Hux said. “I don’t need the force to tell me that you need to find another outlet for your energy.”  
“Are you telling me,” said Kylo, slowly turning back to face Hux, “that I need... a hobby?”  
“No!” Hux laughed as the confusion on Kylo’s face defused the tension between them. “I’m telling you that you need to practise what you can do and learn to calm the kriff down when you don’t get it right first time. Nobody gets it right, right away, all the time.”  
“So guide me then,” said Kylo with a sneer. “What should I do now, oh great teacher?”  
“Well then,” said Hux. “This is the third time you’ve carved up this bulkhead. Let me show you where I keep the spare panels and the welding tools.”

They had been in hyperspace for about ten standard days and the claustrophobia was getting to Kylo. Hux encouraged him to practise his unique skills but the young man berated himself for every little failure to bend the force to his will without seeing the incremental improvements in his control of it. Hux was shocked by the first tantrum, scared by the second and annoyed by the third. After persuading Kylo to make good the damage he’d caused in anger, Hux watched him work methodically on the manual labour of measuring, cutting and welding.  
“I swear half the problem of learning how to do something is simply knowing that the thing can be done,” said Hux. “You made a really neat job of that.” He examined the repaired bulkhead.  
Kylo couldn’t help a flush of pride. That kind of easy praise came rarely to his ears. Perhaps, he thought, this uptight bounty hunter was right. Perhaps he could teach _himself_ about the force and only needed help to learn patience and control over his emotions. He’d ask. Snoke would know best.  
“I’ve always been good with my hands,” said Kylo, tingling at the way Hux held his gaze. “I could show you more, if you like?”  
“Depends what you had in mind,” replied Hux, a slow smile lighting his face. “Can you see what I’m thinking about? Is _that_ what you want?”  
Kylo nodded and Hux backed him up against the newly-repaired bulkhead, pushed both hands into Kylo’s dark mane and kissed him, while Kylo’s hands rucked up Hux’s tunic and pulled at his waistband. Hux laughed. What the boy lacked in finesse he’d more than made up for in enthusiasm over the last few days.

 

The Finalizer dropped out of hyperspace close to a system that, a search by Kayfour confirmed, was not on any of Hux’s extensive collection of galactic charts. Kylo took the helm and piloted them closer until a set of coordinates beeped up on the comms, and they set course to enter orbit around the primary moon of the fourth planet of the large, yellow star. More directions followed, and they flew close above the regolith-coated surface, grey dust trails swirling behind in the sparse atmosphere, then Kylo nosed the yacht down a broad tunnel.  
“Looks like a lava tube,” said Hux, peering at sensor readouts. “Kayfour, scan for active volcanism and seismic activity.”  
“Scan complete. Negative.”  
“Oh good,” said Hux, voice flat. “You might steer us into the cavern wall in the dark but at least we won’t burn in a magma upwelling.”  
“I’m using the force to navigate,” replied Kylo.  
“That’s reassuring,” quipped Hux. “Kayfour, are external proximity sensors operational and tied to autolanding?”  
“Of course, sir!”  
“Good.”

They landed deep within the moon’s crust. Kayfour assured them that there was a breathable atmosphere and the temperature was on the chilly side of comfortable for a human. Hux and Kylo stepped off the yacht’s ramp and onto the smooth floor of the cavern.  
“This way,” said Kylo, taking Hux’s hand. “He’s guiding me to him.”  
The dark would have bothered Hux but Kylo’s touch reassured him. They walked for several minutes until Kylo stopped and touched the wall.  
“Here!”  
He pushed at the surface. It opened with a hiss and the dim light from within the chamber threw a red glow onto the ground. They stepped into Snoke’s lair and waited until the door closed. Kylo took a few paces forward and knelt. Hux stood behind him, trying to peer at the figure in the gloom.  
“Ah, my young apprentice. At last you are in my presence. Are you ready to take your place as Darth Vader’s heir?”

Snoke’s voice was as dry as the Jakku wind and Hux took an involuntary step back when the skeletal figure stood and extended a clawed hand.  
“Yes, master,” Kylo replied. “I will—“  
The rest of Kylo’s words were silenced by the scream that came from his mouth as blue lightning bounced from the walls and played over his skin.  
“Arrogant boy!” Hux watched, unable to tear his gaze away, as flecks of spittle came from the creature’s twisted mouth. “You have much to learn. You need discipline. You are an untutored child in the ways of the force. Only I can teach you how to take your rightful place. Are you prepared to earn my respect?”  
“Yes, master!” Kylo sagged on all fours.  
“No!” Hux jumped forward before his logical thought processes could intervene. Snoke turned yellowed, deep set eyes on him.  
“Ah. The bounty hunter. We have no further use for you.”  
Snoke’s talons raised and Hux felt pain course through his bones. It halted abruptly and he lay panting and sweating on the cold floor. Kylo’s words reached his ears as if he was far away.  
“No! Master, I need this man. He is...” _don’tsayitdon’tsayit_ “useful to me.”  
“I sense you are attached.”  
“No! I swear! He is my...” _nonononononono_ “servant. He does my bidding.”  
“You will have no need of servants here.”  
“Master, please.”  
“You are in no position to ask for this!” Snoke’s hands raised again, then held still. “But I see a use for the cur. I demand your absolute obedience, Kylo. If you should refuse me...”  
Pain wracked Hux’s body again then left him cold and shaking on the ground.  
“I am your loyal apprentice, Master!”  
“See that you are or your pet will suffer. Go to your ship and fetch your belongings.”  
Kylo helped Hux to stand. Hux looked up at him, jaw still clenched and muscles still spasming. The look that passed between them was all the communication they needed.

Hux recovered on the long stumble back to The Finalizer. Once aboard, he called orders to Kayfour: _prepare for departure, compute navigation along reverse path of entry allowing for—_ But Kylo held him tight and his stream of instructions tailed off.  
“I can’t, Hux. It’s not that simple now. I felt his power... so much stronger than me... I must remain here! But you can go. Please! Be safe!”  
“You think we can’t fight that jumped up bully? Kylo, I’ve met his type so many times. Sometimes they have more weapons than you and sometimes it’s all just so much tibanna. Sometimes you come out with a nice fat profit and sometimes you end up lucky to be upright with the clothes on your back. But you never let them beat you without a fight.” Hux was in Kylo’s face, finger waving an inch from Kylo’s cheek. “He wants you and he wants you alive. You’re coming with me and that’s how this is going to go. You think I won’t fight for you?”  
Kylo stood, open mouthed at calm, ordered, logical Hux’s furious outburst.  
“Well then,” said Hux. “Watch this!”


	4. Distraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt:  
> 7\. “The only thing you had to do was to distract them for five minutes!”  
> (I didn’t quite work the line in, but used it for inspiration. Thanks!)
> 
> Kylo and Hux are trapped in Snoke’s lair. Snoke is using Hux to get at Kylo, but Hux is far stronger than Snoke suspects.

Hux stopped trying to count the cycles. Instead he measured time by Kylo’s visits, getting Kylo to score the wall in front of him every time he arrived with a meagre food ration.

***

Of course it had all gone wrong.

In his arrogance, Hux had thought that his yacht’s over-powered laser cannon would blast that monstrous thing, Snoke, into powder from orbit. And it might have done, had they got that far. Instead, as Hux ordered Kayfour to fire up the thrusters and lift them back along the network of lava tubes, he had fallen to the floor, eyes staring up at Kylo and voice a thin, strangled whine.

_he’s in my head he knows... he’s going to nonononono..._

Kylo had killed the engines, instructed Kayfour to play dead unless he or Hux gave a direct order, scooped up the unconscious weight of Armitage Hux and returned to Snoke’s chamber.  
“You instructed me to bring my belongings,” said Kylo, slipping Hux from over his shoulder into the cradle of his arms. “This is all I have of value.”  
And Snoke had laughed.

When Hux woke, the darkness pressed on his eyes and he closed them again before he sat up, rubbing his face and hands, shaking off the dread from his mind as if it was just so much useless, cloying dust. After a few minutes he stood, and with flat hands and careful feet, he felt out the dimensions of his cell. The walls were rounded and smoothly ridged, molten and solidified rock, and Hux wondered if they would reflect glassy-smooth if he had light.

He found out when Kylo arrived carrying a bowl, a spoon and a lamp. The lamp he set down on the floor and the walls, Hux saw, sparkled back.  
“I felt you wake up,” said Kylo, moving quietly in the small chamber. “I brought food. You need to eat it all and be strong because he intends for you to... to not...”  
“Hush, I know,” replied Hux, falling into Kylo’s arms and resting his head on Kylo’s broad shoulder. “I felt it so strongly when he... got into my head on The Finalizer. I suppose that’s why he let me keep my knife. Look, Kylo, I had years of being made to feel worthless, learning to live inside my own head, and I survived. So if he thinks I’ll give in easily... I won’t give him the kriffing satisfaction.”  
Kylo laughed softly and kissed Hux. “He thinks you’re weak because you’re force-blind. He’s wrong.”  
“Well then,” replied Hux. “We both know what happens to people who think me weak.”

Kylo held Hux for a few more seconds then reminded him to eat the food he’d brought. He waited until Hux had all but licked the inside of the bowl before taking the bowl and spoon back. “I have to go. He gets suspicious if I‘m absent from his side for too long. You can keep the lamp. I’ll say I forgot it.”  
“I’ll see you again soon?”  
“Yes. Your care is my responsibility so that when... if... it would be my fault.”  
“But I won’t.” Hux murmured in Kylo’s ear and stroked his hair. “Gather information. Prepare. We need a new plan.”  
“It’s...” Kylo sighed and gave Hux one last hug. “I’ll be back later. I don’t know when. When he allows it.”  
After the door closed and locked, Hux picked up the lamp and walked the perimeter of his cell again, groaned and cursed when he saw the round bucket behind the door, then extinguished the light, lay down and fell asleep to thoughts of sweet revenge.

***

Kylo entered the cell, scored another mark on the wall beside the door, handed Hux his food and waited quietly while Hux wolfed it down.  
“I’m sorry there isn’t more,” he said. “It’s supposed to be motivation for me to turn. Seeing you fade away. If I give you up, he says he’ll let you go.”  
Hux sighed, stomach still growling. “You know that’s a lie, right?”  
Kylo nodded. “You bearing up okay?”  
“Well,” Hux smiled. “I’ve been in nicer prisons and worse hotels. This place needs an ensuite with a decent sonic but the room service is superb.”  
Kylo laughed, but a hiccup turned it into a sob. Hux threw his arms around Kylo.  
“Hey, you’re the force user, Kylo! You’re the strong one. If I can stand this, so can you.” Hux held Kylo tightly and spoke quietly. “I’ve been practising the things you showed me and it clicked at last. I can tell when he’s getting inside my head. Last time was just before you arrived so I thought very hard about the taste of those hot beans we had.” Kylo shifted in Hux’s arms and kissed his cheek. “Mmhmm, the way the cool sauce slipped down first, the slight bite of the bean skin then the dry, floury texture of the flesh, the warm tingle on the tongue then the kriffing _solar flare_ at the back of my throat!”

Kylo giggled and covered his mouth. “I’ve been practising too,” he said. “I’d show you but I think he’d feel it. Do you remember that time you made me mend the panel I carved up?”  
“Of course,” said Hux. He counted the scores on the wall. “We were another four days in hyperspace then a half day here. You come twice a standard day so that only happened... twenty three days ago?”  
Kylo nodded. “Do you remember what you told me?”  
“I told you a lot of things,” said Hux.  
“You said that I didn’t need a teacher because half of learning how to do something was just the knowledge that the thing could be done.”  
“Yes,” said Hux.  
“Well.” Kylo barely breathed the words in Hux’s ear. “You were right. Be ready to distract him. I think you’ll know when the time‘s right.”

Kylo did not discuss his plan and Hux did not ask for elaboration on subsequent visits. If Snoke broke through his defences, it was better that he had no secrets to tell. Snoke’s strategy to torture him had changed: instead of assaulting his mind when he was awake, feeding him thoughts of hopelessness and failure, Hux’s defence of presenting Snoke with emotionally charged scenes had driven Snoke into entering Hux’s dreams instead. After waking from the first vivid nightmare in which he’d watched Snoke slowly pull the air from Kylo’s lungs because Hux insisted on remaining stubbornly alive, he’d wept and then laughed. When Kylo arrived with food, Hux whispered, _”Whatever you need, I’m ready.”_  
In return, Kylo nodded once.

The door rattled and opened. Kylo appeared for the meal Hux thought of as ‘breakfast’ but he did not score the wall and he carried only his lightsaber.  
“Come with me,” he said. “Snoke wants... It’s time.”  
Hux wobbled to his feet, stretched and hugged Kylo. Kylo held him back. “Can you walk okay?”  
Hux nodded. The cell was small but he’d lived for weeks at a time on his yacht and he knew how to look after himself. The rations were inadequate but although Hux’s clothes were loose he could still feel his muscles.  
“Trust me,” he said, squeezing Kylo’s hand. “I look far worse than I feel.”

Kylo led and Hux followed, their fingers lightly laced together so that Kylo could guide Hux through the dark tunnels to Snoke’s chamber. Kylo put his hand on Hux’s shoulder and pressed. Hux took the cue and knelt. Kylo knelt beside him.  
“My lord, I brought Hux to you.”  
“So I see. And you have chosen wisely, my apprentice.” Snoke’s voice whispered like dry leaves in a winter breeze. “Kill him.”

Hux kept his head down but swivelled his eyes up to see Snoke leaning forward on his throne. He felt rather than saw Kylo’s glance flick to him. The sense of _action_ that he got from that one quick look sent his heart rate up and he felt the effects of adrenaline flooding his system. Everything slowed. Hux tensed his toes on the floor under him, dropped his hands to the ground, raised his knees to a crouch and lunged forward as if starting a sprint. As he leapt up and forward, his wrist flicked and the knife in his sleeve dropped from its sheath into his hand. He raised his arm and threw it.

The knife halted in mid-air and Snoke’s attention turned to him. Snoke laughed soundlessly, the look of sheet delight somehow making his grinning face more inhuman.  
“I see your pathetic cur still has a desire to bite! I sense your power, Kylo. Use it. Use your new trick to kill him.”  
Hux turned around, turning his back on Snoke, facing Kylo. In his hands Kylo held a glowing ball of blue light. Hux caught another glance and smiled. In one fluid motion, Kylo threw the lightning ball and Hux hit the floor. He closed his eyes and covered his ears but there was no way to block the stench of charring flesh.

After a minute, his knife dropped to the floor in front of him.

 


	5. Epilogue: Home

“Hux, get up!” Kylo’s voice cut through Hux’s terror and brought him back into the present.  
“Kylo?”  
“You were having a bad dream.” Hux opened his eyes to see Kylo looking at him with concern. “Did you use that meditation my uncle taught you?”  
“Yes. It is helping. I think the dreams are less intense.” He patted the bunk and Kylo sat down.  
“Kayfour says we’re dropping out of hyperspace in...” The yacht gave a stomach-churning lurch. “Here we are.”  
“Ugh.” Hux scrunched up his face. “I hate Jakku. Have you been here before? Planet-wide scrapheap. There’s kriff-all here and even the rich people are piss-poor. They just don’t know it because they’ve never been anywhere else.”  
“Bounty’s worth it, though,” Kylo flicked through the file. “Suspected force user, female, scavenger, abandoned as a kid. Birth record’s been erased but from the picture she looks about... fifteen?”  
“I don’t care.” Hux stretched and rubbed his slender arms, then felt the hard angles of his face that had not filled out again yet. “I can send out a few surveillance drones and Kayfour can sift for matches. And the bounty is garbage. Your uncle pays garbage.”  
“Are you kidding?” Kylo laughed.  
“Literally trash,” said Hux. “What do you want with your uncle’s old x-wing anyway? You’ll have to buy an astromech just to make it fly in a straight line!”  
“Oh,” Kylo smiled. “There’s this guy I know. Has a souped-up pleasure yacht. Thinks he’s the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy but might need backup from someone with actual firepower one day.”  
Hux slapped at Kylo’s leg as he got up. Kayfour announced that they had entered a low orbit and Hux sent out the drones.

It did not take long to locate the target. Hux let Kylo pilot their landing, and they slipped across shifting sand to the collection of tents and huts that passed for a settlement. The target was arguing with someone over a couple of reclaimed power converters. Hux thought the girl looked the kind of dangerous that accompanied desperation. He hung back and watched as Kylo called to her and she raised her staff defensively.  
“You’re Rey, right?”  
“What’s it to you?”  
Kylo shrugged and squinted in the low sunlight. He held out his hand and the girl dropped into a fighting stance. Kylo laughed and lowered his hand. “It’s okay,” he said. “Someone sent us to bring you home.”


End file.
